"I will give you the details at the reception; I don't have a map to show you here," Sophia stated, rising from her armchair. She walked toward the door, and Ryan and his group followed her.
But as they followed her down the hallway, Helen grew impatient and repeatedly insisted that Sophia tell them more about the mission.
So, on the way to the reception desk, Sophia revealed a few details to them.
"Well... Actually, it is simply about collecting materials to craft scrolls, but it is far away and most adventurers find it tedious. We are running out of inspection scrolls, so we need them urgently."
'Scrolls?'
They reached the first floor and stopped at the reception counter. Sophia went in and positioned herself next to another young woman, who was likely her assistant.
"Irene," Sophia said to the black-haired, glasses-wearing woman beside her.
"Look for a map of Ehres Valley," she ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," the young woman said and began searching.
Helen sat on the reception counter and brought her fists together.
"That sounds very easy," she said proudly.
Then, Sophia's expression shifted to a slightly more serious tone.
"One more thing. You must know that the place where you will collect those materials is on the border with the domains of Demon King Rohan."
"WHAT?!" Helen and Mirian shouted in unison.
Helen, with a frown on her face, brought her clenched fist down onto the reception desk.
"Are you crazy?! Are you sending us to fight the demon king?!"
"Helen, calm down. I didn't say you would fight the demon king; your rank is not suitable for that, it would be ridiculous. What I meant is that you have to go to the borders."
Faced with the uproar at the reception, the harsh comments toward Ryan's group resumed.
"Those guys are getting on my nerves," Helen grumbled.
Mirian took a deep breath. Then she intervened in the conversation calmly.
"If I remember correctly, Ehres Valley is on the border of the demon king's domain. And that was the village the demons attacked, right?"
"That is correct, but it was rebuilt several years ago. The S-rank heroes repelled the demons and have rebuilt the city," Sophia stated as she dropped a map that Irene had handed her onto the table, pointing with her finger at the village's location.
Ryan leaned closer to the map.
"It is quite far from our current location. But isn't it just a matter of time before they attack that village again?" Ryan asked.
"No, the city is full of adventurers and survivors. The truth is there were no casualties in that attack. The demons only wanted to seal the portal that opened in that village." She mentioned that in a very strange tone, as if remembering something more than what she was simply saying.
Ryan noticed that strange look, but preferred not to pry into it.
After all, he also intended to understand how he was perceived in this world after transmigrating. So, to keep gathering information, he made sure his questions were not too specific.
"And how are things now?" Ryan asked with an indifferent tone.
"Well, since they sealed that portal years ago, the village is more populated than it should be. The point is, you can go without fear of clashing with demons," Sophia affirmed, settling into her spot behind the reception counter.
"That doesn't sound very reassuring," Mirian complained.
"Fufufu, but Mirian, you are forgetting something very important," Helen laughed proudly, placing a hand on her chest.
Then she looked at the guild master with a huge smile.
"You see, Sophia, we are S-rank now."
"What are you talking about? Stop joking."
"S-rank? What game are you playing now, Helen?" Irene asked with an expression of complete disbelief.
"I am not lying. Use Inspect."
Sophia did not reply immediately.
"I just told you we are running out of scrolls, and you want me to waste one on your whims?!"
"Tsk, just do it, I have no reason to lie."
Sophia looked at Mirian and Ryan, who nodded in agreement. With serious doubts, she pulled a brown scroll from under the counter and pointed it at Helen.
"Inspect."
"..."
"How is this possible?! Since when do you have S-rank?!" Sophia's shout alerted the other adventurers in the area, who quickly gathered around them.
The crowd began whispering among themselves.
"Are they really S-rank?"
"That's impossible, just a month ago they were barely..."
"That trio of useless losers has S-rank now? Don't make me laugh," said a man so large he could easily pass for an ogre.
Ryan identified him as an A-rank, with stats only 30% lower than those of the guild master.
And as he approached, pushing his way through the adventurers, Helen sent him flying with a single punch, making the huge man crash through the main door of the guild.
Ryan smiled, watching the man fly.
"He asked for that himself," he commented.
"Is anyone else going to say we are a trio of useless losers?" Helen directed her gaze toward the rest of the adventurers, glaring at them fiercely.
Before the stunned gazes of Sophia and Irene, the remaining adventurers backed away, intimidated.
Mirian stepped up and placed a hand on Helen's shoulder.
"Oh Helen, you are so easy to provoke."
Ryan sighed.
Sophia stood watching them for a while longer, confused.
"The inspection doesn't lie, they really are S-rank..." Sophia squeezed her cheeks hard, trying to wake up from a dream.
Then she added:
"It's true, you really are S-rank. Though you omitted that from the report..."
She crossed her arms and stood thinking for a moment in complete silence.
"That changes things a lot, but you still have to complete this mission," Sophia continued. "By the way... I am adding that door to your debt as well."
"What!"
'You asked for that too,' Ryan thought.
...
Sophia told them she would give them the mission details at dawn.
So Ryan returned to their house with Helen and Mirian.
In reality, he simply followed them, as he didn't even know they had a house they shared as a party.
Upon entering the house, the tables were covered in dust, as was the floor. It was normal, since no one had opened the doors to that place for a month.
They walked to the center of the room.
"I can't believe they are making us work for free when we are S-rank," Helen questioned.
Ryan took a step forward.
"It won't be for free, we just have to complete this task so they waive the debt," Ryan added.
"That's true, stop looking on the dark side," Mirian continued. "But the most important thing right now isn't the fact that we are S-rank, but that Ryan became very strong. I don't think there is a single support member with his strength," Mirian commented, quickly shifting the tension in the room.
"That's true, but how did you do it? Did you pour your points into Strength?" Helen asked with curiosity.
"Don't be silly, Helen. Can't you see his support magic is even stronger now? He used his points correctly."
"Even so... That still doesn't make sense," Helen added, looking at the floor.
"Calm down, it is because of the attributes of these gauntlets, they are very useful. Plus, I earned the Wolf Hunter title by defeating the boss."
Helen's eyes lit up.
"Do you really have that title now? How cool!"
Then Mirian approached Ryan and evaluated him.
"Well, that explains why he became so strong, I think."
'Those things helped, of course, but it's actually thanks to the debt system.'
They spent some time talking about their experience in the dungeon, and how pleasant it was to meet the elves, considering they treated them very well despite being the ones who brought the proud dragon that was tracking them.
But afterward, they retired to sleep, as the journey had left them exhausted. It was a type of mental fatigue that healing magic could not repair.
Ryan fell like a rock onto the bed and didn't get up until the sun came through the window and woke him.
...
Upon leaving the room, Helen and Mirian were having breakfast.
They invited him to eat and then headed to the guild to speak with Sophia, who would hand them their new mission. As they walked toward the guild, they began to notice how people looked at them with curiosity and then whispered among themselves, though they couldn't quite understand what they were saying.
But since they were in a hurry, they didn't pay much attention and continued on their way to the guild.
Upon arriving, Ryan pushed open the doors of the guild.
Sophia was there with five men dressed in white suits, a kind of guard uniform.
"What is going on here so early? What kind of trouble did you get into, Sophia?" Helen commented mockingly.
'How reckless...'
"Actually, these holy knights are here for you," Sophia said, approaching Ryan's party along with the guards.
"What! And why is that? We haven't done anything!" Mirian questioned.
"Calm down," the man in the guard uniform said as he stepped forward.
"You are not under arrest, but... I have orders to bring you before Duke Augusto Halberg III. He is the one acting as the spokesperson for the church."
'Church... holy knights? What the hell now?'